Destination X, is about two weeks away. Two more three way tournaments to go through, leading to the four man Ultimate X match for a contract with the company. So far, I beg for Austin Aries to win because I like his personality. Which means he has one akin to Kendrick,Kaz,Gen-Max and I think Robbie E.
How the mighty division has fallen from its peak in 2005 at Unbreakable, with the classic match between Samoa Joe vs Daniels vs Styles. Now we have to fight for scraps between Amazing Red dressed as a K-mart brand Mexican Luchador (racist much!)* to destroying a tag team to get a member over only for them to vanish a few weeks later.**
I pray that Destination X is good, and lord willing I will be watching it on July 10th since it’s on a day before my birthday. I could only wish that its worth the last couple months of watching Abyss carrying around his make shift Art of War, quoting verses like a traveling preacher at a revival.
What I wouldn’t give to see something other than nostalgia but a new chapter debuting that will signal the return of a once great division that took the tradition of the WCW cruiser-weights and expanded on it.
Introducing the “X” factor that TNA was missing since late 2009, will definitely bring relief to those long time fans that have given up on the product when Hogan and his regime came aboard more concerned with the main event picture which was doing just fine (my opinion) before they ever stepped foot into the company. But after watching the Before the Bell program detailing the resurrection of the X Division, the upcoming matches in no particular order are: (Spoiler)
Ultimate X: Austin Aries vs Ion vs ?? vs ?? for a TNA contract
Kazarian vs Samoa Joe
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
RVD vs Jerry Lynn
Abyss (c) vs Brian Kendrick
So far decent nothing to write home about, staring nostalgia in the face right now. Hopefully the next two winners of the X division tournament can hang with Aries and prove they have what it takes to move into the company and creating a buzz.
I know I’m wishing for a lot when it comes to July 10th with Destination X, but give an old TNA head something to look forward to in Impact Wrestling’s future other than more Hogan and Bischoff spouting about how great they once were.
It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time for Impact Wrestling! But not just any episode, no. This one will feature footage and matches from the BaseBrawl event held in Buffalo on June 18th in which Bored Wrestling Fan founder ThinkSoJoE was present for. You can check out his breakdown here, and I’ll do my best to keep a look out for him as I delve into this episode. With the preamble out of the way, let’s hop to it, shall we?
I hope that we are on the verge of watching the emergence of Alex Riley as a superstar. He seems to be strapped with a rocket to the Oort Cloud (nerd reference #1) and back. Part of me thinks that he can fly limitless space with his God-given talents (if he chooses to use them). And there are still days I wonder if he might be a “work-in-progress.” I tend to have faith that if the WWE is patient with creating him, he will go very far.
But there’s a problem. Who is Alex Riley? Why do I care about him? What exactly has he done before wrestling? He looks exactly like Rob Conway, Sylvan Grenier & Rene Dupree. Why is he different than those guys? He wore a letter jacket? He carries a briefcase Miz won? He used to be Miz’ manservant and now is not? I need a reason to cheer for him that goes beyond his hatred with Miz. It’s not a coconut to the head. It’s not a fork in the arm. His feud with the Miz will not be enough to extend to other wrestlers after he’s done.
WWE, give me a reason to cheer for him. Give him a t-shirt. I’m assuming he must have a personality. Use that. I need to know the time I spend cheering him will be well-used.
Alright, it’s Monday Night around 1 AM which means I’ve been playing Spider Solitaire and completely ignoring my facebook and twitter accounts in an effort to avoid spoilers. And since I was on a bus while this show was on and therefore unable to vote, it is my right – nay, my duty to complain about the results of each poll. This is the first time the WWE is ever putting the power in the hands of the people (since they canceled the Cyber Sunday PPV), so this could be interesting. Let’s get started…
I guess I should explain what I’m doing. I won’t really do a linear recap. You’ll be able to find many great recaps. These are just my meditations and reflections of the weekend that was.
-First and most important lesson. Do NOT ever do a weigh-in outside in North Texas on June 17th. It had to be 108 degrees out there. You could tell that most people there were hungry for MMA, but then there were some blood-thirsty fame-seekers, too.
-Shirts not to wear at an MMA weigh-in: this or this.
-One of the most popular personalities there by far was Jacob Stitch Duran. The man was treated like a god, and many people wanted their picture taken with him. He was just out in the crowd, standing with the people.
-When you are speaking to a fighter or an MMA personality, show some respect. If you are trying to get somebody’s attention, start with their nickname. And if they don’t respond, start with their last name. Especially if they are as old as Stitch.
-After the weigh-in my dad and I were walking to the car, we saw, walking the other direction, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (who was cornering Marco Almeida). After having a minor freak-out moment, a group of guys behind us spotted him, too. They asked him for a picture. He didn’t have much time but took one anyway. I thought that was classy.
-The actual event was fun even though the fights pretty much blew. There was a tool who went apes*** over the fact they didn’t open the door at 5:59:30. He got the officer to open the door to tell him to shut up (we think).
-We had floor seats and they were very well-guarded so there weren’t any scrubs paying $12 and then finding a floor seat. I really hate it when that happens.
-There were some fight sponsors giving out their t-shirts for free. I felt they needed a plug. http://www.feartappingout.com/
-Those of us on the floor were kind of like a double-decker tour bus taking a Hollywood tour of homes. Every new body that came out, it was like “Who is that?” We found Bas Rutten and Michael Schiavello pretty early in the night. When he was able to, Bas took pictures with whomever he could. I was shocked how little Mauro Ranallo and Jimmy Lennon Jr. were bothered. Miesha Tate was spotted in the crowd, as was Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Herschel Walker and Michael Irvin were also in the crowd. Miesha and Bigfoot were very accessible and took a lot of pictures with whomever they could.
-I had a 13-year-old girl Justin Bieber moment when I first saw Miesha Tate. I squeed like a girl when I saw her. I gave her a new nickname that night-“Gina who?” I tweeted, “Just saw @MieshaTate in person. Or as I call her, ‘Gina who?’ Camera does not do her justice.” I was actually responded to by her. “@justinruff Lol thanks! I don’t think Im very photogenic lol”. I’ve been tweeted by some celebrities before. I think that was one of the biggest for me.
-The first fight was Brian Melancon vs. Isaac Valle-Flagg. This was the first of the bulls*** decisions from the judges. Melancon looked great in the cage, and I hope he gets several opportunities. Nothing against Isaac (who had Keith Jardine in his corner), but it was 29-27 Melancon at best.
-During the first fight, we had the ring girls stand ringside. At first the one in front of us looked hot and athletic and stuff. And then I realized. The poor thing has never eaten. The great Sir Mix-a-Lot could not have said, “Red beans and rice didn’t miss her.” I again tweeted “Somebody get the ring girl some food. Give me @Mieshatate any day.” I was responded with a “Hahaha lmao” from the lovely Ms. Tate herself.
-Nah-shon Burrell was great in his fight, and even though Joe Ray tried to put him under every submission imaginable, Burrell fought back. I wrote that Burrell does not feel pain.
-Conor Heun took on Marco Almeida. While I am happy that Heun got the win, I started out the fight as a fan of Heun and ended up a fan of both by the time it was over. There was no way Heun got that decision.
-Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante is a man who cannot catch a break. His last fight was a decision that even the winner said “There’s no way that was 30-27.” And then an accidental eye poke. Love JZ. Wish him lots of luck, because the guy has no good luck at all.
-Chad Griggs looked great against Valentijn Overeem. The crowd was definitely “Team Overeem.” I was just glad to see a finish.
-Apparently they forgot to tell Jeff Monson he could hit too. It was a pretty disappointing fight.
-KJ Noons-Jorge Masvidal was my fight of the night choice. What was so surreal was that I was watching the moment where Masvidal punched Noons and the cut happened. That this fight lasted a round was a small miracle. I have to say that after this round, Stitch is the greatest miracle worker in humanity.
-Josh Barnett had a great submission victory against Bret Rogers.
-You’ll hear 30,000 different opinions on Overeem-Werdum. It was just such a styles clash. To compare, it was like AJ Styles having a pro wrestling match against Mad Man Pondo. Or the Dallas Mavericks playing the Green Bay Packers in baseball. I think that Werdum is going to get a lot of flack. All he wanted to do was fight his style. It was a pretty awful main event. I’m just glad Overeem won.
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Yeah, that’s right. Jeremy Borash name dropped us at TNA Wrestling’s BaseBrawl in Buffalo. Anyways, great show these guys put on, follow along with us, won’t you?
What’s up everyone and a Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there including mine out there in the great beyond. This is my first of many Fathers Day’s that I’ll have to experience without him. I just want to let him know that I miss and love him very much and things just aren’t the same without him. Now having said all that, let’s talk about some other stuff that’s been going on: (more…)
After a break from the Thursday product, I’m back to review another episode of Impact Wrestling. I won’t lie to you, I’m a wee bit tired having stayed up late watching a bunch of idiots in Vancouver riot after the Boston Bruins won game 7 to capture the Stanley Cup. As a hockey fan, and a possibly former supporter of the Canucks, it’s embarrassing. So before I get to reviewing the show, I want to let any non-hockey fan out there know that this is not a normal activity or outcome… albeit some argue that the riots were going to happen regardless of who won that game.
Wrong show… the Saint’s do no go marching in… just the SWAT.
It’s the fallout (New Vegas?) from the Slammiversary IX PPV last Sunday are more or less smarks the 9th anniversary of the TNA/Impact Wrestling’s debut on June 19, 2003. Coincidentally enough, my birthday it that day. Check out Pintnoir’s fantastic review of the event here. Pintnoir covered Impact for the last two weeks and will be resurfacing on Friday for Smackdown! Be sure to check back for all things wrestling on the other blue show.
